I even enjoyed my SUP session so much that I surfed three hours.
My favorite part was the stand up snorkeling. At moments it was like if you were suspended in the air, the water was so clean you couldn't really see it.
The second factor that boosted the enjoyment level was the good vibe, probably set by the guys on the supsquatch. And by the relatively low crowd. That's what happens when the waves have been good for a few days.
Third factor was that I was better tuned into my SUP board. Still didn't get the turns I wanted, but I had a lot of fun.
Last but not least were the conditions. For those, I'll let the photos speak. How's the face of the wave on this one?
Yesterday I wrote that Dave Kalama can put everything on the rail. He's the one at the back of the squatch steering the whole thing.
And yes, it did put that thing on the rail.
And trimmed it.
Marina sulla cresta dell'onda.
Rejected.
Ilima Kalama caught this bomb at Middles, rode it all the way to the beach, changed his board for a smaller one and then paddled back out.
He's my biggest surfing inspiration. I'm so gonna do the same when I'm 73. At least, that's the plan if I ever get there.
Joao Marco Maffini hits the lip. I like talking to him in Italian, because you can tell he enjoys speaking the language his dad taught him. Fortunately he learned English from his class mates.
This guy was ripping and had a touch of Michele Bourez in his surfing.
Another successful drop by the squatch team.
Man turn by Joao Marco.
Here goes Bourez again.
One foot higher and she could claim it.
NSP was having a photo shoot.
I guess the chronological order got all mixed up, but it doesn't matter. It was perfect all day.
More of these guys from the gopro.
Long time lifeguard Steve drops in a slightly overhead one. At one point of was sitting on his board smiling at me and clapping his hands.
"Why are you clapping your hands?", I asked him.
"I don't know, I'm just having so much fun!"
Fantastic.
The NW buoy had a double hump graph yesterday and you can expect the same to happen similarly at the local buoys. Pauwela just registered the first hump (the usual 16h later for that kind of period), so in the morning it should be going down a bit before starting to go back up in the afternoon.
No sign yet of the extra large swell that will lit up Jaws and the outer reefs again Sunday.
At 5am Pauwela reads 7.1ft @ 13s from 329° (NW). That is pretty much my limit for surfing Hookipa on a regular board. No way I can do that on a standup, so I'll have to seek other breaks.
Wind map shows:
- a NNW fetch. This is the one that generated Sunday's swell and is now aiming more at the Mainland's west coast.
- a nice fetch SE of New Zealand for the second day in a row. South swell next weekend.
- I put a circle on the tiny section of the winds around tropical storm Pali down where I pointed the Marshalls are, because Pat Caldwell mentions the possibility of a small SW swell coming from that.
In Pat we trust so we'll keep an eye for that, but I honestly don't think we'll get much.
The closeup shows the south westerly flow that will characterize today.
As a matter of fact, this is the MC2km map at noon showing the Kona wind.
Sailing at Lanes might happen.
And even more as a matter of fact, the iWindsurf.com (key tool for choosing the spot) sensor at the harbor at 6.12am shows 12mph average (8-18). And I hate SUP surfing with more than 5mph...
Once again, I'll be forced to do the wrong discipline, but that's what one does when at house arrest.
One more image: the satellite closeup at 6am shows some clouds associated with the arrival of the front. Doesn't look too bad, but it will bring sporadic rains. That's ok after two pristine cloudless days.
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